It has become common knowledge that women who carry excessive weight have difficulties conceiving and are urged to lose weight before trying to become pregnant.  Researchers in Scotland report that men who are overweight face fertility issues, too, and should consider shaping up before trying to father children.  The research team from the University of Aberdeen reported their findings to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology’s 24th annual conference on July 9.

Dr. A. Ghiyath Shayeb led the research team as they examined the seminal fluid of 5,316 men who turned to the Aberdeen Fertility Centre when they and their partners had difficulties getting pregnant.  Almost half of these men supplied data regarding their body mass index, or BMI.

The men were divided into four groups according to BMI, with BMI values ranging from underweight to considerably overweight, based on the classification system issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition to BMI, the research team considered other factors that might affect analysis, including smoking and alcohol consumption, age, social life, and how long it had been since each man had had sex before supplying a semen sample for analysis.

The men in the BMI classification considered optimal (a value between 20 and 25) had the highest volume of seminal fluid as well as the highest number of healthy sperm.  Sperm concentration and motility was found to be almost the same across all four BMI groups.

For the sake of this particular study, only semen quality was examined but previous studies have indicated a strong correlation between excess weight and DNA damage in sperm cells.

Shayeb says his team’s research should encourage overweight men seeking fatherhood to lose excess pounds, with the goal of achieving a normal BMI, before trying to conceive a child.  A healthy lifestyle improves the man’s quality of life as well as the quality of his semen and is likely to benefit the quality of life of any children he fathers, too.

Source: European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology